Electric time-instrument system



Dec. 22, 1942. w w LUNDEN 2,306,070

ELECTRIC TIME-INSTRUMENT SYSTEM Filed Feb. 4, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet l qgiH .IIIIIIJ IIIIIIIIEIIIIIIIIIIH IIIIIIII Dec; 22, 1942. w. w. LUND EN2,305,070

ELECTRIC TIME-INSTRUMENT SYSTEM Filed Feb. 4, 1942 SSheets-Sheet 2 some77 i529 a 71 78 qo l fzecfrz cpowerfoam 8? l 5% INIIIIIIHIIIHHILOPatented Dec. 22, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT ELECTRIC TIME-INSTRUMENTSYSTEM Walter W. Lunden, Hampden, Mass, assignor to The StandardElectric Time Company, Springfield, Mass, a corporation of ConnecticutApplication February 4, 1942, Serial No. 429,451

Claims. (Cl. 5824) This invention relates to improvements in electrictime-instrument systems in which one or more time-means are controlledby a master time-instrument.

One object of this invention is to provide an improved electrictime-instrument system in which one or more time-means are so controlledin their timing and resetting phases from a master'time-instrument thatat least one of the timemeans can be periodically corrected without everrunning it backwards.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear to thoseskilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includesall features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of the present disclosure, inwhich certain ways of carrying out the invention are shown forillustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of time-means made in accordance with thepresent invention;

Fig. 2' is a sectional view on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the reset-cam and the minute-timing cam;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the one-way driven cam;

Fig. 6 is a schematic view illustrating one way of carrying out thepresent invention; and

Fig. 7 is a schematic view similar to Fig. 6 of a modified construction.

In the description and claims, the various parts are identified byspecific means for convenience, but they are intended to be as genericin their application as the prior art will permit.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral It) generally designates atime-recorder of usual construction and I! generally designates amotor-driven timing-and-resetting unit attached to the time-recorder.

The time-recorder if) has a frame which in cludes a plurality offrame-plates l2, l3 and I4 suitably connected together by meansincluding .pillars 1.5.

A shaft I5 is rotatably mounted in the frameplates 12, I3 and l 4 of therecorder and has rigidly secured thereto a ratchet-wheel ll adapted tobe engaged by a pawl l8 pivoted on a lever [9 which has its lower endmounted with freedom for rotary movement on the shaft i8. A springinterconnects the pawl l8 and lever 59 to yieldingly hold the pawl inengagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel H. A pivoted holding-pawl2| is yieldingly engaged with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel ll by aspring 22. At the left end of Fig. 1, the shaft It has a gear-wheel 23rigidly secured thereto. A gear-wheel 24 rotatably mounted On an arbor25 is in driven engagement with the gear 23, and in conjunction fit)with other well-known drive-means serves to drive the time-recordingwheels Z6, 21 and 28 of the recorder in any usual or well known way.

The gear-wheel 23 on the shaft l6 also is in driving engagement with agear-wheel 29 thereabove which is rigidly secured to a shaft 30rotatably mounted in the frame-plates l2 and i3. A gear-wheel 3! rigidlysecured to the shaft 30 drives a gear rigidly secured on the minutearbor33 which has a usual minute-hand 34 rigidly secured thereto. Anhour-hand 35 is secured on an hour-sleeve 36 which can be driven by anyusual gearing well known to those skilled in the art. A dial 3'! alsoforms part of the recorder clock.

The motor-driven timing-and-resetting unit I I has a frame including twoplates 38 and 39 secured together in spaced-apart relation byspacing-means including pillars 40. The frame of the motor-driven unit Ii is secured to the frame of the recorder-unit It in any suitable way. Ashaft ii is rotatably mounted in the frame-plates 30 and 39 and has agear-wheel 42 rigidly secured thereto, the gear-wheel 4-2 being drivablein either of opposite rotary directions by means of a reversibleelectric motor 43 driving through a train of reduction-gears 44. Alsorigidly secured to the shaft 4! is a timing-cam 45 and a resetcam 45. Adriving-cam 41 is mounted for free rotation on the shaft M and has acoupling-lug 4,8 secured on one face thereof adapted to be engaged anddriven by a complemental couplinglug 49 secured on the adjacent face ofthe resetcam 46. A shaft 50 is rotatably mounted in the frame-plates 38and 39 and has secured thereto an arm which has a pawl-shaped end ornose 52 adapted to cause the arm 5| to be swung out by the nose 52 beingengaged by each of the camfaces 53 of the teeth 54 of the cam 41 as thelatter is rotated. Any reverse rotation of the cam Al is prevented bythe nose 52 of the arm 50 engaging against one of the locking-faces 55of the cam 41. Also rigidly secured to the shaft 50 is an arm 55 whichhas pivoted to its lower end, a link 5i which in turn is pivoted to thelever l9. When the driving-cam M is driven counterclockwise (Fig. 2),the successive cam-faces 53 successively swing the lower end of the arm56 to the left and thus through the link El correspondingly swing thelever 19 to the left against the action of the spring 58 whichinterconnects the lever H with any suitable portion of the frame of therecorder l0.

The timing-cam 45 in the particular construction illustrated is sodriven by the gearing from the motor 43 that it makes two revolutionsper hour, and inasmuch as the cam 45 is provided with thirty cam-teeth59, each cam-tooth 59 during the rotation of the cam 45 closes theelectricswitch contacts 60 of the switch 6| once per minute and breaksthese contacts once per minute, as will be hereinafter set forth.

The reset-cam 46 has a time-advancing surface 62, a neutral surface 63and a time-retarding surface 64. A switch 65 has two spaced-apartcontacts 66 and 61, and an intermediate movable contact 68 adapted to bemoved into electrical engagement with either contact 66 or 61, dependingupon what surface portion of the resetcam 46 the contact-arm end 69rests, as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

The motor 43 (illustrated schematically in Fig. 6) is a Barber Colemanreversible induction motor, which has a power-coil l9 which has one endconnected to the line-wire l2 and has the other end connected toswitching mechanism adapted to connect with the line-wire H, ashereinafter set forth, .the line-wires H and 12 re ceiving power fromany suitable power source such, for example, as a 115-volt alternatingelectric current, and the motor has two pairs of directional coils l3and 14. This motor has the characteristic that when the power-coil aloneis excited by current from the line-wires H and T2, the motor does notrun but merely stands still. But when the pair of directional-coils 13is short circuited on itself, this causes the motor to run in onedirection, which causes the clock hands 34 and 35 to rotate clockwise,and when the pair of directional-coils 14 instead of coils i3 isshortcircuited on itself, the motor runs in the opposite direction. Butif neither of the pairs of the directional-coils are short-circuited,then the motor does not run in any direction.

A usual master clock 15 receives electric current from any suitablesource as, for example, from a 115-vo1t alternating-current source overthe wires 16 and 1.2, which may be from the same source that suppliescurrent to the power-coil of the electric motor. The master clock 15 canbe connected by two wires 18 and 19 to a plurality of usual secondaryclocks 89 which are adapted to be actuated in timekeeping relation withthe master clock as, for example, to be actuated every minute to movetheir hands forward, and to periodically reset them to correct time, allas is well understood to those skilled in the art.

The wires 18 and 79 also are connected to the coil or coils 8! of anelectromagnetic relay 82 having opposite magnetic poles 63 and 84adjacent which are respectively located armatures 85 and 86. The masterclock normally sends a relatively-low voltage current over the wires 13,79 at intervals of one minute for the timekeeping or timing function,and once an hour sends a higher voltage current over the wires 18, 79for resetting purposes. The armature 85 of the relay 82 is soconstructed that it will be actuated by either the low or the highvoltage current through the relay so that at every time a current eitherof low or high voltage is sent over the wires '18, 19, the armature 85will be drawn by the pole 93 to cause the armature 85 to engage theelectric contact 8'! to thus permit current to pass from the line-wirell through the armature 85 and across the contact 8'! and along the wire88 to the power-coil 7'9 of the motor. But the armature 86 is soconstructed or biased or spaced from the magnetic pole 84 that it willnot be actuated by the lower Voltage current applied to the relay, butonly by the higher voltage current. The armature 86 is normally engagedwith the electric contact 69 to normally close the circuit through thedirectional coils 7.3 of the motor 43, and when the armature 86 isattracted by the magnetic pole 84 to cause it to engage the electriccontact 99, the circuit of the directional coils 73 is opened by virtueof the armature 86 breaking contact with the contact 89, and the makingof contact of the armature 86 with the contact 96 places the middle orneutral contact 9| of the directional coils 13, 14 of the motor 43 incontact with the intermediate electric contact 68 mounted on thespring-arm 69 of the switch 65, so that if the end of arm 69 rests uponthe cam-surface 53 as shown in Fig. 6, then neither pair of directionalcoils 13 or 14 will be short-circuited and the motor 43 will not run inany direction. But if the end of arm 69 rests upon the cam-surface 62,then the contacts 68 and 67 will be closed with the result that thedirectional-coils 13 will be short-circuited to cause the motor 43 torun in the time-advancing or clockwise direction. Or ii the end of arm69 rests upon the cam-surface 64, then the contact 68 will be permittedto spring into engagement with the contact 66 to shortcircuit the coils14 which will result in the motor running in the time-retarding orcounterclockwise direction. The cam-surface 63 is made relatively shortas it is merely for the purpose of maintaining the contact 68 at neutralposition at the fifty-ninth minute so that when the next normalclock-advancing impulse passes through the system, the time mechanismswill be ad vanced one minute to be just exactly on time.

For convenience, the two cams 45 and 46 toether may be referred to inthe claims as second time-means, and the one-way-driven ratchetlikedriving-cam 41 may be referred to as third time-means. It is to be notedthat the entire recorder-unit I 0, including the hand reset-lever I9,could also be viewed as third time-means.

Operation During normal operation of the time-instrument system, themaster clock will at regular intervals such, for example, as each minuteof time, send out a time impulse of about one second duration. This timeimpulse in addition to advancing the hands of each of the secondaryclocks 89 one minute, also acts upon the relay 82 to cause the armature85 to close the contact 81 which causes electric power from the wires H,'12 to energize the power-coil 10 of the motor 43, and since the pair ofdirectional-coils 13 of the motor is short-circuited on itself throughthe contact 89 and armature 86, this causes the motor 43 to startrotating in the timekeeping or clockwise direction with the consequencethat the finger 92 of the switch 6| is caused to ride up one of theinclined surfaces of a cam-tooth 59 of the timing-cam 45 to thus closethe contacts 60 of the switch 6| so that the motor 43 continues to havepower supplied to its power-coil 10 so that the motor 43 continues torun even after the timing impulse from the master clock has ceased andhas permitted the armature 85 to swing away from the contact 81. Themotor continues to operate until the finger 92 again descends into anotch between two teeth 59 of the timing-cam 45, whereupon the contacts60 again open, thus stopping the motor 43. As the ratchet-likedrivingcam 41 has the same number of cam-teeth as the timing-cam 45,each time the mechanism causes the timing-cam 45 to rotate a distance ofone tooth as just described, the driving-cam 41, by virtue of engagementof the coupling-lugs 48 and 49, will rotate a distance of one too -l1and cause a cam-face 53 of a tooth '54 to swing the arm 5|, link 51,lever l9 and the connected parts heretofore fully described, to resultin the hands 34, 35 of the clock being advanced one minute and in theprinting-wheels 26, 21 and 28 also being advanced one minute of time.

When the master clock reaches the fiftyninth minute, a higher voltagecurrent is sent out over the wires 18 and 19 to reset the secondaryclocks and also to so actuate the relay 82 and the associated mechanismto properly reset the second time-means which includes the cams 45 and46, and the third time-means 41, as hereinbefore mentioned, which willnow be fully set forth. The higher voltage reset electric impulse thatis sent over the wires 18 and T9 is a long impulse which may, forexample, be of twenty seconds duration, and which in any event will bewell under one minute and ordinarily under one half-minute in duration,so as to complete the resetting operation in ample time not to interferewith the next minute-interval timingor timekeeping impulse. If the shaft4! and the cams 45, 46 and 41 are in slow-time position, then the fingeror end of contact-arm 69 will be resting upon the time-advancing surface62 of the resetcam 46, thus closing the contacts 68 and 61. And as thehigherwoltage current through the relay 82 will draw both the armatures85 and 86 in toward their respective poles 83 and 84 to close thearmatures 85 and 86 respectively with the contacts 81 and 90, this willsupply power to the power-coil 76 of the motor 43 and will shortcircuitthe directional-coils 13 of the motor to cause the motor to rotate in adirection to ad- Vance the time position of the shaft 4! and the cams45, 46 and 4! until the end of arm 69 comes to rest upon the cam-surface63 of cam 46 which causes the contact 58 to move to neutral positionwhich stops the rotation of the motor 43 and all associated parts, whichaction occurs upon the fifty-ninth minute so that at the next minuteimpulse the time mechanisms are advanced to the sixty-minute 0r uprightposition and are all at correct time-indicating or timing position.

But if instead of the cam 46, and associated parts, having been slow, ithas been fast at the time of the reset impulse coming from the masterclock then the time-retarding cam-surface 64 will be in engagement withthe arm 69, which will result in contacts 58 and 66 being closed, withthe consequence that the directional-coils 14 will be short-circuitedinstead of coils 3, thereby causing the motor to run in the backward ortime-retarding direction which will cause the shaft 43 and the cams andto rotate backward until the cam-surface 63 comes beneat-h the finger 69which causes the contact 68 to be moved to neutral position which breaksthe circuit in coils l4 and causes the electric motor to be stopped withthe time mechanisms in the fifty-ninth minute position awaiting th i bitnminute timing-impulse which will place them all on proper time. Itwill be noted, however, that when the shaft 4! and cams 45 and 46 havebeen run backward, the cam 41 has not been run backward inasmuch as thecoupling-lug 49 will have been moved away from the coupling-lug 48, thusleaving the cam 41, and hands 34 and 35 and the printing-wheels 26, 2'!and 28 of the recorder, in their incorrect fast position, but inasmuchas the cam 45 and the shaft 4! and related parts will now be rotatedforward in timing or timekeeping movement once per minute by the minuteimpulses from the master clock acting in a manner hereinbefore setforth, the reset-cam 4-5 with its coupling-lug 49 will be advancedstep-by-step once per minute until the coupling-lug 49 again engages thecoupling-lug 48 on the one-waydriven driving-cam 41. The driving-cam 41,and in consequence the associated parts including the clock-hands 34 andand the printing-wheels 26, 21 and 28 of the recorder, will thereforeagain start moving forward in correct time owing to the hereinbeforedescribed driving action between the coupling-lugs 49 and 48.

Referring to the modified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. '7,the mode of action is essentially the same as that described concerningthe construction illustrated in Fig. 6 except that instead of a two-wiresystem interconnecting the master clock ltd and the secondary clocks83a, a three-wire system including the three wires 94 and 95 areemployed, these three wires also extending to the relay-means which, inthis instance, is formed by two separate relay elements. The two wires83 and 84 are used to send the timekeeping impulses to the secondaryclocks 38a and to the relay 82a, and the two wires @3 and 95 are used tosend the hourly reset impulses to the secondary clocks 85a and to therelay 821). Thus the relay element or relay 82a by acting on thearmature a serves to pull it into engagement with the contact 81a tocause current from. the line-wires "fl and 12 to pass through thepower-coil iii of the motor 43, the directional-coils 13 of the motorbeing closed through the contact-bar 86 carried by the armature 857:1,the mode of operation of the construction illustrated in Fig. '7 beingotherwise identical with the mode of operation of the constructionillustrated in Fig. 6, during the normal timing operation. Whenire-setting current is sent out from the master clock through the twowires 68 and to the relay 3%, the armature 85b is pulled to the left,causing the contact-bars 86 and 81 to respectively engage the contacts8Tb and 89b. The contact 8127 now performs the function of the contact81a which the contact 81a of the relay element 82a performed at theminute-impulse times to energize the power coil 1%) of the motor 43, andthe contact 8% acts in a similar fashion to the contact 89 of the relay82 illustrated in Fig. 6, in conjunction with the cam-surfaces 62, and64 and the contact parts 66, 61, 68 and the arm 68 to short-circuit oneor the other or neither of directional-coils 13, 14 of the motor 43 tocause the motor to run in one direction or the other or not to run atall in exactly the same manner as has heretofore been fully set forth inthe description of the construction illustrated Fig. 6.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than thoseherein. set forth without departing from the spirit and essentialcharacteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are,therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and notrestrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalencyrange of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein.

I claim:

1. An electric time--instrument system including: master time-means;second time-means; third time-means; electric motor means adapted todrive said secondv time-means in either of forward or backwarddirections; said second means when it moves forward in normal timingmovement, driving said third time-means forward in timing movement, butwhen said second timemeans moves backward in time-receding movement, itdoes not drive said third time-mean in any direction, and when saidsecond time-means again moves forward, it does not drive said thirdtime-means forward until said second timemeans has moved forward adistance equal to its previous backward time-receding movement; andelectric relay-means adapted to be energized by said master time-meansto initiate forward iming movement of said motor-means, the saidrelay-means also being adapted to be energized by said master time-meansto initiate either forward time-advancing or backward time-retardingreset-movement of said motor-means, depending on whether said secondtime-means is slow or fast.

2. An electric time-instrument system including: master time-means;second time-means including switch-mechanism; third time-means; electricmotor-means adapted to drive said second time-means in either of forwardor backward directions; said second time-means when it moves forward innormal timing movement, driving said third time-means forward in timingmovement, but when said second time-means moves backward intime-receding movement, it does not drive said third time-means in anydirection, and when said second time-means again moves forward, it doesnot drive said third timemeans forward until said second time-means hasmoved forward a distance equal to its previous backward time-recedingmovement; and electric relay-means adapted to be energized by saidmaster time-means to initiate forward timing movement of saidmotor-means, the said relay-means also being adapted to be energized bysaid master time-means to initiate either forward time-advancing orbackward time-retarding reset-movement of said motor-means, depending onwhether said second time-means is slow or fast; the movement of saidsecond time-means actuating its switch-mechanism which causes saidmotormeans to continue the forward timing movement initiated by saidrelay-means during a predetermined distance of movement of said secondtime-means, whereupon said second time-means actuates saidswitch-mechanism to cause said motor-means to stop.

3. An electric time-instrument system including: master time-means;which includes timing-movement cam-means and switch-mechanism therefor,and reset-movement cam-means and switch-mechanism ther for; thirdtime-means; electric motor-means adapted to drive said second time-meansin either of forward or backward directions; said second time-means whenit moves forward in normal timing movement, driving said thirdtime-means forward in timing movement, but when said second time-meansmoves backward in time-receding movement, it does not drive said thirdtimemeans in any direction, and when said second time-means again movesforward, it does not drive said third time-means forward until saidsecond time-means has moved forward a distance equal to its previousbackward time-receding movement; and electric relay-means adapted to beenergized by said master time-means to initiate forward timing movementof said motor-- means; the movement of said timing-movement cam-meansactuating its switch-mechanism which causes said motor-means to continuethe forward timing movement initiated by said relay-means during apredetermined distance of second tin1e-n1eans movement of saidtiming-movement cam-means, whereupon the latter actuates itsswitch-mechanism to cause said motormeans to stop; the said relay-meansalso being adapted to be energized by said master time-means to causesaid resetmovement cam-means and its switch-mechanism to cause eitherforward time-advancing or backward time-retarding reset-movement of saidmotor-means, depending on the position of said reset-movement cam-means.

4. An electric time-instrument system including: master time-means;second time-means; third time-means; a reversible electric motor adaptedto drive said second time-means in either of forward or backwarddirections; said second time-means when it moves forward in normaltiming movement, driving said third time-means forward in timingmovement, but when said second time means moves backward intime-receding movement, it does not drive said third timemeans in anydirection, and when said second time-means again moves forward, it doesnot drive said third time-means forward until said second time-means hasmoved forward a distance equal to its previous backward time-recedingmovement; and electric relay-means adapted to be energized by saidmaster time-means to initiate forward timing movement of said motor, thesaid relay-means also being adaoted to be energized by said mastertime-means to initiate either forward time-advancing or backwardtimeretarding reset-movement of said motor, depending on whether saidsecond time-means is slow or fast.

5. An electric time-instrument system including: master time-means;second time-means which includes timing-movement cam-means andswitch-mechanism therefor, and reset-movement cam-means andswitch-mechanisii i therefor; third time-means; a reversible electricmotor adapted to drive said second time-means in either of forward orbackward directions; said second time-means when it moves forward innormal timing movement, driving said third time-means forward in timingmovement, but when said second time-means moves backward intime-receding movement, it does not drive said third time-means in anydirection, and when said second time-means again moves forward, it doesnot drive said third time-means forward until said second time-means hasmoved forward a distance equal to its previous backward time-recedingmovement; and electric relay-means adapted to be energized by saidmaster timemeans to initiate forward timing movement of said motor; themovement of said timing-n1ovement cam-means actuating its switch-nonanism which causes said motor to contilrrie the forward timingmovement initiated by said relaymeans during a predetermined distance ofmovement of said timing-movement. cam-means, whereupon the latteractuates its switch-mechanism to cause said motor to stop; the saidrelaymeans also being adapted to be energized by said master time-meansto cause said reset-movement cam-means and its switch-mechai sin. tocause either forward time-advancing or bacnwarr time-retardingreset-movement of said motor, depending on the position of saidreset-movemer cam-means.

WALTER W. LUNDEN.

